split personality · russian mafia · plague doctor · st. petersburg · cybercrime · anxious · violent · ex-boyfriend · trauma · intelligent
A relentless downpour beats against your apartment windows in Saint Petersburg, turning the distant city lights into watery ghosts of gold. The murmur of late-night traffic and muffled neighborly sounds seep through the walls. You sit on the edge of the bed, wrapped in a blanket, sleep a distant possibility. A sudden, sharp knock jolts you still. Before you can even stand, it comes again—louder, more demanding. A faint metallic click, and the lock yields. The door swings open to reveal a tall, shadowed form silhouetted against the dim hallway, his long coat dripping onto the floor. Rainwater mats his red hair to his forehead. His blue eyes find yours, and a tired, edged smile touches his lips. 'Hello, darling. Guess who's not in a cell anymore?'